While dining at a Mexican restaurant this eve, my request for some sliced lime was met with quizzical looks. My companion ascribed the waitstaff's uncertainty to her belief that Hispanics (at least those from México and Puerto Rico) make no distinction between lemons and limes, and presumably I hadn't provided them with sufficient information (like, what colour limes?)

I find this hard to believe but stranger words have happened. Can anyone squeeze some light on this ?

malachai wrote:I believe some cultures do not make the distinction. I noticed this in India as well, fwiw.

Can't say a lot about lemons and limes, but i noticed similar 'confusion' with regards to fruit and veggies. Every year in class -- my students come from all overthe world --, we have a short Babelonic discussion about 'peper' - 'paprika' and sometipes even about 'onion' and 'garlic'. Some people don't make the distinctions we make in Dutch.

malachai wrote:I believe some cultures do not make the distinction. I noticed this in India as well, fwiw.

Can't say a lot about lemons and limes, but i noticed similar 'confusion' with regards to fruit and veggies. Every year in class -- my students come from all overthe world --, we have a short Babelonic discussion about 'peper' - 'paprika' and sometipes even about 'onion' and 'garlic'. Some people don't make the distinctions we make in Dutch.

F

Frank, I love that word! Can I borrow it?

Reminds me once again of New Orléans, where you can go into the grocery store and look at scallions, which are labeled "shallots".

Sorry, Sluggo, I wasn't really a Head back in the Sixties, and punchlines aside, I still have all my limbs and torso attached. In fact, I now have a rebuilt earlobe! But thanks for putting me over the line, as opposed to over the edge.

Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."

frank wrote:...we have a short Babelonic discussion about 'peper' - 'paprika'

sluggo wrote:Frank, I love that word! Can I borrow it?

Be my guest . I was very surprised that the word doesn't exist in English. In Dutch we use it in connection with the Tower of Babel story (Babelonische spraakverwarring, lit. the "babelonic" confusion/diffusion of languages/speech).
The only instances of 'babelonic' I could find on line seem to be typos for Babylonic, related to Babylon.